


Dust Specimen No. 1

by kaito_kou



Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, Character Death, F/F, Heavy Themes, Human Experimentation, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ruby and Yang are cousins, Salem and Ozpin still have beef, War, but they treat each other like sisters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:33:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23811613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaito_kou/pseuds/kaito_kou
Summary: The World of Remnant was undergoing a war between Grimm and Man. Everyone knew of the life or death quarrel that was to come in joining Salem and Ozpin's war. Ruby Rose was the daughter of the infamous Summer Rose, a woman so fast she could defeat a whole squadron before the enemy could realize they were even infiltrated, but when Ruby was kidnapped during a war meeting in Atlas, things seemed hopeless for Summer. No one knew who kidnapped Ruby, or what they were going to do with her. But what would everyone think of the Ruby Rose that came to be after almost 8 long years of experimentations..
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 15
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

Bell chimes could be heard throughout the complex, the complex Ruby Rose had known for most of her life. At age 4, she was taken away from her family, but it's not like she knew that. Of course not, all she could remember from being alive was a cold room and a snow white facility that could've been mistaken as a mental ward. But the laboratory was no place to get help, it prevented you from ever thinking that help was coming. The barren gray walls of Ruby's room were always cold to the touch, floors that sent shivers up her spine. They hadn't even given her proper shoes. The only thing that could keep her warm was the sole blanket the people that had trapped her here generously gifted her.

"Hey. Get up Rose, your training hours are starting soon," one of the faculty workers warned. Ruby didn't look up, all she did was nod and got up from her bed, stretching. As she walked out her door they put some sort of collar around her neck, of course this was simply routine for Ruby. She was smart enough, even for her age of 6, to know that if she ever stepped out of line, or broke her routine, the collar around her neck was there to make sure she stepped back in. The man took her to a room filled with desks and chairs, other children were also there. She sat down at her usual chair, next to Pyrrha Nikos.

Pyrrha was the new kid from God knows where. She was only 2 years older than Ruby, but she was behind Ruby in intellect. Although it was understandable, Ruby was the first child the complex had taken, meaning she was the first test drive for most of the experiments. During her 2 years at the complex, she observed that there were a lot of other rooms that held several secrets. The only rooms she's been allowed in was her own, this "study room", and the mess hall.

The study room was actually taught by several people, people who seemed far too smart and old to be teaching a bunch of children. Even the work they were given was far harder than any 6 year old could even comprehend or know about. The work were for people who were just graduating high school, the dialect was far to complex, and the way they required to talk to adults seemed far to formal for small children. But that didn't stop them, **nothing** did.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha said cheerfully. Ruby looked over and gave Pyrrha a soft smile. "Hi Pyrrha. How are you doing?" Pyrrha smiled and pulled something from her pocket. It was an orange leaf. Ruby's eyes went wide, this was the first time she's seen something from the outside in her, as far as she can remember, life. "I've been wonderful! And look! Penny got it for me when I asked her what the outside was like." Penny Polendina was one of the people who actually _cared_ for the children. As far as Ruby and Pyrrha know, she was sent by her commander to watch over the place, in case it ever needed to be defended. Ruby and Pyrrha didn't really understand, but they didn't care, all they cared about was that there was someone that actually cared for them.

"That's really cool, Pyrrha. Just-" Before Ruby could finish, the educator of the day snatched it out of Pyrrha's hand and inspected it. "Where did you get this?" He asked intimidatingly. Pyrrha looked up and lowered her head in fear. "I-I.." Ruby looked at her friend in sympathy, but she kept the stoic look on her face. She knew how the people here worked, the second she showed she was something weak and worthless, they'd dispose of her or.. worse. "I asked Penny to get it for me Professor," Ruby stated as she looked up at him, straight-faced. Pyrrha looked up at her, clenching at her own dress. "I wanted to know what the outside was like. I wanted more research." She explained.

The professor looked at Ruby and twirled the leaf in his fingers. "I see," as he handed the leaf back to her. He started walking back up to the front of the class, but he stopped halfway and let out a small, hollow chuckle. "Research if you may, but know you'll _never_ leave this place," he continued to take his place at his desk and began the, absurdly hard, lesson for the day. 

"You didn't have to do that, Ruby. I w-would've been fine." Ruby looked over at Pyrrha and saw her with her head down, clenching her dress. 'You say that, but you're still trembling...' 

She sighed and lightly bumped Pyrrha's shoulder with her fist while putting the leaf in her lap. "No you wouldn't have. It was better if I did it, they can't dispose of me, not yet at least..." She muttered the last part. "Me, you, and Penny, I hope.. We're all we got in here. So, don't go wimping out on me.. ok?" Ruby gave Pyrrha one of her rare, genuine smiles. Ruby lifted her fist in front of Pyrrha. She sniffled and chuckled lightly as she bumped Ruby's fist with her own. "Alright. I'm with you.."


	2. Chapter 2

#### The Day of the Kidnapping

It was a cold Atlas morning, the heating grids ran slower during the day to save up the rest for the night. This was supposed to be a little trip to Atlas that both Summer Rose and her daughter, Ruby, could enjoy. Their original plan was to go around Atlas and see the wonderous sights the City in the Sky had to offer, however that would have to wait till later. Summer was called to a war meeting by General Ironwood in Atlas, luckily, they were already reaching their destination. 

After Summer and Ruby stepped out of the transport that took them there, she promised Ruby they would at least get hot chocolate before they went. Ruby gave her mom a toothy grin and nodded. This would be Ruby's first time out of Patch, so it took some getting used to. Because of the thick blanket of snow, Ruby waddled through like an unstable penguin. Patch got snow, but not quite like Atlas. Atlas was like a winter wonderland, but without the wonder. Besides the breathtaking views and amazing restaurants, Atlas was filled with business men and uniforms. Summer was glad Ruby was with her, it gave her a breath of fresh air in this bland place. She giggled at her daughter's attempts of walking through the snow before ultimately deciding to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way. Walking through Atlas made anyone feel small with it's massive skyscrapers, and it's constant outpour of mechanical soldiers, but recently, Summer had never felt smaller, it's as if someone were always trying something to overthrow her, make sure she was always at the bottom. She shrugged it off when Ruby started playing with her mom's fingers, and getting antsy from being carried for too long. 

Summer giggled and readjusted Ruby's scarf before setting her down. She grabbed ahold of her daughter's hand and finally made it inside the warm café. It smelled of freshly brewed coffee and baked goods. Though, Ruby was more focused on the amount of cookies in the display case. After ordering their food and drinks, they were about to leave when they ran into one of the most well known women in Atlas.

"Willow Schnee, how lovely to see you. How are you?" Summer asked. Willow Schnee was one of the most powerful women in Atlas with her husband being the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, though it was apparent to anyone that they didn't have the happiest of marriages. "Ah, Summer Rose. I've been alright, are you here on military terms?" She said, her voice laced with fatigue. Summer picked on this, too. If given a close inspection, Willow looked as if she hasn't slept in days. She hid it well, it was expected of her as a Schnee. Even carrying that name could make anyone tired. 

Summer nodded, "Yes, I am. I need to be at a meeting later today with some military officials." Summer looked downward and saw Willow's second daughter, Weiss Schnee. Summer gave her a smile and a small wave. Weiss hid further behind her mother's legs, trying her hardest to not be noticed. "Oh, that's right," Willow said, like she forgot she had brought her own daughter with her," Weiss, greet Ms. Rose." Weiss peaked from behind her mother, "H-Hello, I'm Weiss." Willow's eyes hardened at her stutter, but then widened her eyes when she saw Ruby offer Weiss a cookie. "Here!" Ruby offered cheerfully. Weiss hesitantly accepted and smiled at her. "Thank you."

"You're daughter has silver eyes?" Willow questioned. "Hm? Oh! Yeah, friends and family say she's like a carbon copy of me," Summer said jokingly. "A carbon copy.. I see. Well it was nice to see you Summer, but Weiss and I must be leaving now. Thank you for giving my daughter that treat. Let's go, Weiss." And with that, Willow was gone. Summer was thankful, she didn't know how long she could hold a conversation with her. Summer snapped out of her daze when Ruby pulled at her cloak, she picked her up and kissed her cheek. "That was very sweet that you gave Weiss one of your cookies." Ruby gave her a bright smile and she suddenly felt a much better, but that didn't mean things later on would.

Several hours after seeing the sights Atlas had to offer, it was about time the meeting needed to be started. Obviously, Ruby wasn't allowed to attend the meeting, so General Ironwood allowed her to stay in his guarded office, as compensation for the sudden call. Before they left, Ironwood gave Ruby a small pendant with his emblem for her to play with. Ruby stayed put while, as Summer put it, "the adults talk." After everyone was gathered, the meeting started. "The Grimm and Salem have gone quiet for several weeks. Now is the best time to plan something before they can execute theirs," Ironwood put his scroll and displayed it. "These were all the recent attacks and all location of reported Grimm activity before thing went.. quiet." Everyone analyzed the display. "All the villages that were raided have some connection to distributing natural resources that benefit in District production." Ozpin pointed out. "But why these villages? It's not like cutting off trade for a few days will be very effective in their plans." Summer stated. The room was left pondering, like you could hear the cogs turning in their heads. "Perhaps it's a last-ditch effort to sabotage us. It could be a-a desperate attempt," General Leonardo Lionheart suggested. "Maybe, but why now? Why when all of the military is at it's strongest," Summer questioned, "And why go silent after several raids on villages?"

"Because they didn't go silent." A rugged voice said as it entered the room. "Qrow," Summer said, surprised. He gave her a smile, and she turned away flustered. "Qrow. Where have you been? You haven't contacted us for weeks." Ironwood scolded. "Yeah, I'm alright, Jimmy. Thanks for asking." Ironwood pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and sighed, "Qrow," he warned. "I get it, I get it.. I shouldn't have gone dark without saying anything," he said. As he walked toward Summer, he pulled out his Scroll, "You see this? This is the send button." 

"Alright, that's enough." Ozpin intercepted, "What do you mean they aren't silent?" Qrow slicked his hair back, his face was lined with fatigue, "Exactly what it sounds like, Oz. The regular Grimm haven't done anything though, it was The Turned.." Everyone went still and the room filled with dread. "It seemed like they were gathering information, they didn't do anything harmful, yet. They left no traces, that's why we can't hear anything about them."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but, what are 'The Turned'?" General Theodore asked, he was the new General that oversees the Vacuo District. Qrow looked at him, and lightly chuckled, "Right. You're new, huh? Well, The Turned are Humanoid Grimm that can think and speak. They can muster enhanced versions of regular Grimm abilities." Theodore put a hand over his mouth and furrowed his brows, " That's.. horrendous." Qrow solemnly nodded, "Though, that's not all. They have the ability to imitate semblances by simply witnessing the activation of the semblance. They can't copy more than one semblance, they can't imitate it for a long time, and the semblance-copy is weaker than the original, but that's enough for them to be able to kill even a highly skilled Huntsman." Theodore thought over the information that was given to him. No one knew how Salem did these things, how much power she held. After being exiled from Remnant for trying to assassinate Ozpin and frame Ironwood for it, she found herself at the Land of the Dark God. This is where she learned of the Grimm, but how could something that awful exist, something worse than the Grimm even. "I don't understand," Theodore exasperated, "How is that even-" 

Before he could continue, alarms rang throughout the building. Everyone was startled, "What in God's name is going on?!" Lionheart panicked. Two guards came bursting through the door, "General Ironwood, Sir! There's been a breach!" Everyone immediately stood to their feet in alarm. Summer felt her heart drop, Ruby was still in the office. "Ironwood!" Summer yelled, he looked over and panic filled his eyes. "Guards! Put this entire place on lockdown! **NOW**! I want a log of everyone who has entered the building today! And **someone** bring me the security footage, I want to know who was even _able_ to come in contact with this building!" The guards saluted, "Yes, sir!" As they rushed out the door to regroup with their comrades for lockdown, and to get what Ironwood had requested for. 

Summer grabbed Qrow and activated her semblance towards Ironwood's office. "Summer! What-" Qrow saw Summer's desperate face, and he furrowed his brows. _'You'd better be okay, kid..'_

When they got to the office, Summer felt her legs fail her, and she collapsed to her knees. The door was bashed open with two guards left unconscious at the entrance, the office was left wrecked. Qrow slowly went into the room with his weapon drawn, she was gone. While inspecting the room, he was relieved to see that there were no physical signs of Ruby being injured while she was taken. Well, except for her scarf that was left on the floor. Qrow withdrew his weapon, and gingerly picked up the scarf and dusted it off. _'Dammit, kid.'_

He exited the room and handed the scarf to Summer. "This was.. all that was in there." Summer slowly grabbed the scarf and clenched it to her chest, and began sobbing harshly. Ruby was her only child, and she had lost her in an instant. Qrow knelt down and tried comforting her the best he could. "Please tell me she'll be okay.." Summer said in between sobs, trembling violently. He sighed, "Summer.."

"Please, Qrow," she pleaded. He hugged her tighter, "She'll be okay, Summer."

#####  Just before the entire building went on lockdown 

"Yes, I have the girl. I'm on my way there," the man said into his scroll with Ruby slung over his shoulder. "This girl really does have silver eyes," the man's comrade said. He grinned maniacally, "She'll be perfect."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter comes back to Ruby's life in the laboratory. Now with Ruby being 10, and significantly stronger and smarter than before, what will they do to her? Why did they do this? What was she being prepared for?

#### The Dust Laboratory

It was early morning as far as Ruby could tell, the clock in her empty room was the only indication of time she had. There was no windows in this facility, she was ultimately cut off from the outside world. 

The clock's hands were pointed at 4:38 A.M. Her regular training didn't start till 7 A.M. So, why were two people dragging her out of her room, collar already attached to her neck. As Ruby became less and less drowsy, she realized she was brought into one of the locked rooms. She always wanted to see what could be inside these locked rooms, but now, she'd never been more terrified.

When the door opened, she saw an operation table with straps on it, and a small part of the room sectioned off by a wall with a window, likely for observation. The two people that brought her there strapped her onto the table and left the room. 

Ruby's heart started picking up speed, so she tried struggling against the leather straps. They hurt when she tugged against it, after tugging a few more times, she decided to stop after realizing she was just hurting herself. _'Stupid, smart faculty members..'_

Laying on the table for a few more minutes, her heartbeat finally slowed, until the door to the room opened again. "Good morning, little Rose. Did you get enough sleep?" he smiled menacingly at her. 

Arthur Watts.. He was one of the people who ran this place, he was a doctor and a scientist. Ruby looked at what he was holding, and felt a cold sweat overcome her. He had a full tray of powdered Dust, Raw Dust, and needles.

She clenched her fists, "Wh-what are you going to do with those? With me?" Ruby questioned, hesitantly. She heard the snap of his gloves as he put them on, all the noises became louder than they should've been, like her senses heightened at the worst possible time. 

Watts turned around and held the needle in his hand that was filled with some kind of liquified Dust. "You'll see," he said in a low, threatening voice. He looked up and gave a thumbs-up to someone behind the operation table. Ruby titled her head and saw people with clipboards and papers inside the "observation room." They gave a thumbs-up back to him, and Watts refocused his attention back to Ruby. 

"Let us begin.."

Hours of injections, testing, observing, and blood curdling screams later, Ruby was finally released from the table. Her veins glowed different colors due to the Dust injections. She was too weak to even stand, so they had the two people from earlier take her back to her room. 

Ruby awoke and shakily sat up, she looked at her hands and saw they were also violently shaking. She had probably been sleeping for only a few hours. Breathing heavily, she curled up and put her head on her knees, clenching the front of her shirt in her fists. 

The burning sensation in her veins eventually subsided, but she was too stiff to move, afraid the pain would come back and give her hell. This was until someone quietly entered her room.

She felt the bed dip as they sat next to her on the bed, "Hey.. Are you okay? You didn't come to class today," Pyrrha asked in concern. Ruby lifted her head to look at her, "I'm okay. Just had a bad dream, the professor said I was allowed to miss today," replied softly. 

She didn't want to worry Pyrrha, not when everything was already so bad. "Are you sure? You can talk to me.." Ruby was hesitant, of course she wanted to tell Pyrrha, she wanted to get out of this place with her and Penny, but this was all they had right now. What right did she have to ruin it. She didn't want to ruin the only good thing she had.

She gave Pyrrha a soft smile, "I'm okay, I just want to rest." Pyrrha gave her a sympathetic look, she wanted to say more, but the faculty had other plans. "Nikos." The two turned their head toward the doorway and saw one of the physical trainers, "Let's go," he said in a stern voice. Pyrrha nodded at him, and turned to hug Ruby. "Extra lessons?" Ruby asked. 

"Yep. I have to catch up to you after all," Pyrrha started toward the doorway, "I'll see you at dinner, Ruby." Pyrrha waved at her then left. 

After the door closed, and auto-locked, Ruby laid back down and buried herself in her blanket. She grabbed the old pendant from under her pillow, the pendant had little carvings in it, but also had an unrecognizable emblem on it. She figured she got this from her life before this lab, if that was even possible. This lab was the only thing she's known for the past 6 years, but she wasn't stupid, that was the one thing they forgot to account for when they vigorously trained her mental thinking, she was able to deduce things most of the other children couldn't even dream about. 

There was a reason new kids would just appear, seemingly out of nowhere, these children, and likely her, all had lives and families before this place. So, if Ruby could get out, she could maybe return to a family that had lost her.

Ruby reached inside her pillow case and wrote down the "operation room" on her makeshift map. That was the first step in her escape, learn the terrain.

A month had passed, and Ruby kept secretly, and carefully, mapping out the facility. After figuring out the pattern of the building structure, she deduced that one of the locked doors had led into a hallway, this was the only door that would lead into one, meaning the exit would have to be through there. There's no way they would leave the exit door in the same place their "test subjects" would roam around in. This would be where she needed to go when she had everything she needed. 

Ruby laid flat on her back on her bed, it was around 4:30 A.M. She hadn't been tested on in the past month, and she knew it wasn't likely that these experiments would be a one time thing, so she concluded that these experiments were to happen monthly. There was no way they would wait more than a month for this. They needed results more than anything, but they needed her to get them. 

Right on queue, the door to her room opened. She didn't want them to know that she knew they're schedule before they could even get into the rhythm, so she pretended to sleep. "Wake up, Rose," The faculty member ordered. Before Ruby could pretend to wake up, he was already dragging her out of bed and putting on her collar. As they walked down the hall, she noticed there was another door across from the "operation room." It was probably Watt's office, Ruby thought. 

They took her inside and strapped her to the table, then left until the process was over. She looked around the room and noticed that there were extra medical equipment, mostly the sharp ones, she made note of this. Few minutes go by, finally, Arthur Watts entered the room, with different types of Dust this time. Last time, she noticed that the Dust was red and yellow, both in powdered form and raw form, she thought it might have been some kind of heat related dust. This time, the Dust was light blue and a darker shade of blue, both powdered and raw.

"Well, Little Rose, shall we get started then," he said in a mocking voice. She clenched her teeth, but she smiled while his back was turned. This was the time for the second step, figure out what made her enemies tick.

"Hey Doc, can I ask you something?" She started. "Whatever it is, _dont_ expect an answer," he replied. "I just wanted to ask why you were put to work with all of us. You're obviously too smart for this place, so why get put having to deal with us?" Watts kept prepping the injections. "I mean what great scientist and doctor would want to work on such a project with children, and probably far from the other outsiders," she paused when she saw his shoulder's just barely tense," could it be that, maybe, there's someone even _smarter_ than you?? Though, honestly wouldn't surprise me," she said with a smirk. He finally turned around, he kept a stern face, but anyone could tell he was pissed off. Then he started chuckling.

Ruby became confused, and furrowed her brows. Watts gave a thumbs-up to the people in the observation room, they gave him one back. "You really think you know me, girl?" he inquired. He gave her one of his shuddering smiles that could send shivers down her spine, "I couldn't be happier to be experimenting on you and seeing you in agony." He began injecting the Dust, and screams soon followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set after Ruby's kidnapping, Summer, with the help of Taiyang Xiao Long and Qrow Branwen, did everything in her power to search for her daughter. Months went by without even a single hint.

Summer was left devastated, her little flower was gone, and in an instant without leaving a trace besides her scarf. It's like Ruby never set foot in Atlas. When Ironwood scanned every bit of the security footage, there was nothing out of the ordinary, it was like that whole ordeal never occurred. The state of Ironwood's office was the only physical proof of the breach. 

Summer begged Ozpin to let her go on personal leave, she couldn't work in her state. Ozpin allowed her to go on leave, he even offered her anything she needed for her search. 

It had been months and Summer was still searching, getting into anywhere she could with her specialized Huntress license, looking in every nook and cranny of Atlas, she even searched the surrounding villages, but she always came up empty.

Taiyang Xiao Long was Summer and Qrow's old teammate who was still very close with them. The three of them all took residency on the island of Patch, they had a fourth member, but they haven't seen her since two years after their graduation. While Qrow was sent on Ozpin assigned missions, also helping Summer whenever he could, Tai offered Summer his full assistance. Tai also had a daughter, Yang Xiao Long. Yang was the big sister figure in Ruby's life, they hadn't told her what had happened to Ruby, how could you even tell a child that their relative little sister had gone missing, so they just left her in the dark until she was old enough.

After yet another failed search, Tai and Summer decided to return to Patch for some much needed rest. They opened the door to be greeted by Yang and their dog Zwei, "You guys are back! How was your secret mission?" Yang bubbled. Tai gave her a tired smile, he picked her up and messed with her hair, "How were _you_? You didn't give your babysitter a hard time, right?" 

Yang swatted her Dad's hands away from her head, "Of course I was good! Bad kids are not cool, but I'm good! That makes _me_ cool!" Yang exclaimed. 

Summer made her way to her room, but Yang stopped her before she could. "Hey Momma Summer! When is Ruby coming back? Is she okay?" Yang innocently questioned. The room went tense, Yang didn't mean any harm, she just didn't know what was going on. "Uh, well she's.." Tai started, but then Summer interrupted him. She walked over and gently lifted Yang from Tai's arms into hers. Was this really okay? Yang deserved to know what happened, even if she was still young, they couldn't keep lying to her. "Yang, sweetie.. I'm sorry to tell you this now, but.. Ruby's missing," Yang went silent, her eyes wide, "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but Tai and I are doing everything we can to bring her back, I'm sorry Yang." Summer didn't know what to expect, but she wasn't expecting Yang to tightly hug her.

"She'll be okay, Momma Summer.." Summer was shocked, she didn't know what to say and started tearing up while hugging Yang tighter in her arms. "I know my little sister, she's very strong, like you are. I-I know you guys will find her." She couldn't stop herself from crying, Yang was only 6 years old, and yet she had just said every single word Summer so desperately wanted to hear. Yang started crying too, so Tai pulled all of them into a group hug and stayed like that before they decided they needed to start dinner.

Summer wasn't able to be there for Ruby, so she was going to do her damndest to be there for Yang. Yang's mother was Raven Branwen, Qrow's twin sister. She left all of them after Yang was born, she never got the chance to meet her mother, but Summer was going to be the one who gave her a mother figure in her life. It was the least she could do.

In-between trying to help Ozpin figure out what Salem was planning, and helping Tai raise Yang, Summer realized that nothing was probably going to show up about Ruby for now. It was now four years after the kidnapping for Summer, she returned to work for Ozpin on the field seeing that nothing about Ruby had shown up yet, but that didn't mean she had given up. Her returning to the field meant she was stronger than ever before. Grimm had started appearing once again, but with less ferocity than before, this was noticed by the military officials but they stayed vigilant. Summer needed to be there for Remnant, so that when she found her daughter, the world would be a lot nicer to Ruby than it had been to her. But the world had other plans for Summer.

Already weeks into work, Summer was assigned to a smaller mission. This was supposed to be a recon mission for her, short and simple. The Huntsman she needed to meet was located in one of the older villages that lay far from the Districts, the Huntsman was to give her the information of Grimm he had researched that were in the area. Nothing intense or difficult was to occur in this mission, but things didn't turn out that way. 

After not returning, or reporting anything for almost a week, Ozpin sent Tai and Qrow to the village to check on her. When they got there, the whole village was destroyed. The Huntsman, along with the entire village, were dead, and with no one left alive, help wasn't coming.

The two of them flipped the entire village over to find even a fingerprint from Summer, but the last thing they wanted to see.. was Summer's torn cloak and broken weapon near the front of the woods. Other than that, not even Summer's body was found.

Qrow and Tai went back to the Beacon District to report to Ozpin what they found, that they lost yet another Rose.. 

When Ozpin was informed, he was left shocked and devastated, Summer was one of his top Huntresses, and for her to just be gone like that... was just gut-wrenching. 

Qrow went with Tai back to Patch, but they parted ways when Qrow went to their local bar. Out of everyone, Qrow had been taking this the hardest, not only had he lost Ruby, but also Summer, the woman who brought light into his darkened world. She gave him a reason to keep fighting for the next day, but with her gone... What reason did he have left?

He walked into the bar, ordered, and took a seat, he needed to numb himself. When the bartender slid him his drink, Qrow looked into his glass, what was his reason to keep going..? Flashes of Ruby entered his mind, her smile, her silliness. His glass froze right before it hit his mouth. What was he doing, he asked himself. He stood up, paid for his drink, then left. He already knew the answers to his questions, he had more important things to find.

While Qrow went to the bar, Tai went back home, tired and crestfallen. When he opened the front door, he was greeted by Zwei, he kept standing on his hind legs to get to his owner. Tai gave his dog a sad smile and a scratch behind the ears. 

He opened the door to Yang's room and saw she was already sleeping, he decided to close the door, not wanting to wake her up. "Dad?" Too bad she was already awake, though. "Hey, Yang. Why aren't you sleeping? Did I wake you?" He sat at the foot of her bed, Zwei coming into the room to snuggle against his owner's shoes. 

"Nah, I was waiting for you to stay home, but the sitter put me to bed. Did you find Momma Summer?? She's okay right, I mean there's no way she'd lose to those Grimm things," Yang asked eagerly. She had so much faith in Summer, so much belief that she would always come back. Tai pulled his daughter into a tight hug, and he felt himself fall apart, "I-I'm so sorry, Yang, Summer's gone." 

Yang flinched, there was no way she heard what she did, right? Summer was her Super-Mom, there was no way Super-Mom would lose, right? "We couldn't find her, her weapon and cloak was all we could find. I know how much you loved her, Yang, I'm so sorry." Tai couldn't help himself anymore, he started crying. He did try to stop, he needed to be strong for his daughter after all.

Yang pushed back and put her hands on his cheeks. She had an angry and sad look in her eyes, tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. "What about you, Dad? She was your friend, teammate.. She was our family. You said all you guys found was her weapon and cloak, right? She could still be out there, she has to be.." Her voice broke at the last phrase, she still had faith in Summer, faith she would come back to them. She would come back and make cookies, and read bedtime stories, and scold her for being up too late. She would come back and be her Mom again. 

Tai hugged his daughter tightly, "R-Right.. She could still be out there," Tai sobbed. They stayed in each other's comfort for the rest of the night. 

Afterward, Tai and Yang decided they wanted to make a small monument in memorial. The stone had Summer's emblem carved in it. It wasn't a grave, it was a reminder that Summer _could_ be out there, somewhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another month had gone by for Ruby. This month was going to be her third time in that operation room. This would be when she finally commenced the final step of her plan. The last step she needed to escape this dreaded laboratory.

This would be the day Ruby was waiting for. The day of her escape.

4:30 A.M. 

It was around that time were they were going to get her, so Ruby pretended to sleep once again. This back-and-forth only needed to go on for a little longer. The pain she endured will all be worth it when she finally escapes this hell hole.

Ruby heard the door creaking open, light from the hallway spilling into the dark room, "Rose. Up, now." Ruby did as she was told and stood up, they put her collar on and brought her to the operation room. 

She had already mapped out what she could, and guessed the rest of the complex based on what she already knew of the building's structural pattern. All that was left to do now was go through this dreaded ordeal, and it will all be over soon.

The faculty worker followed routine with strapping Ruby onto the table then left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She did another scan of the room, it looked the same as last time. 

Tilting her head toward the door, she saw a cart with a variety of nuts, bolts, and screw drivers. Her inspection of the room was cut short when the door was opened and Arthur Watts entered. 

The Demon Doctor was right on schedule.

"Good morning, Little Rose, lets get started.." He gave her his signature creepy smile and went to go prepare the injections for the day. Ruby wasn't able to see what Dust he brought, but that didn't matter when her hearing had enhanced. 

She didn't know how but her hearing had enhanced significantly over the past two months, she thought it was probably the amount of Dust that was now adapting in her system.The Dust had somehow enhanced her senses and abilities. 

"Gravity Dust will be an interesting experiment. Perhaps the Dust will cause Rose to levitate or even levitate other objects," Watts said in a very quiet whisper.

'Gravity Dust..?' Watts stopped prepping and turned around to face Ruby, he wore a surprised expression. 

"You heard that?" Ruby snapped her mouth shut, she hadn't realized she thought that out loud. "When did this start happening?" Ruby refused to answer, and put on her best stoic face. She didn't want to crack under someone like him. 

"Not going to talk? Fine. I already know that it was the Dust that did this, doesn't matter if you don't tell me when it started," he started chuckling. 

"You've simply just dug a larger hole for yourself, Rose." He gave his thumbs-up and started the procedure. The Dust entering her system hurt less this time, but it still was unpleasant as all hell. 

She clenched her teeth and curled her fists. "Not screaming anymore? That's too bad, your screams are like music to my ears."

She was unstrapped from the table and was able to stand up on her own. The worker from earlier guided her back to her room, but not before she tripped on her own feet and knocked into the tool cart. 

"Shit! You!" Watts pointed at the worker that was next to Ruby, "Clean that up. I'll bring the pest back to her room." Ruby was pulled to her feet and dragged to her feet by Watts. He had absolutely no patience for this.

He threw her into her room and locked the door. Through the door, she heard Watts muttering curses outside. Ruby was left lying on the floor, her breathing shallow. Until she started grinning. 

She pulled out a screwdriver and a small bolt she hid in the front of her shirt. When she knocked into the cart in the operation room, she made sure the screwdriver and at least one small bolt fell onto the floor, and with that she had completed the final step of her plan. 

Acquire the needed tools for the mission.

Ruby dragged herself back onto her bed, body aching all over. She pulled out her makeshift map, pendant, and a keycard she swiped from one of the faculty workers from her pillowcase. 

She knew that when it was dinner time, all the cell doors were to be left open, meaning she could tamper with her door's lock mechanic before anyone noticed. The doors locking mechanic was simple. 

A thin, but sturdy, sheet of metal would eject from the door and into the doorframe, if she had something strong enough, she could use it to stop the door from locking all the way in. The bolt was the perfect size, it was small and firm. The screwdriver would act as her temporary weapon, in case she needed it.

'This is it... I'm finally going to escape.'

After locating Pyrrha in the mess hall and made her way over, she noticed there were slightly fewer children than before. Ruby never took notice of the other children, always keeping to herself, but that didn't stop her from wondering where else they could've gone. Not like they could've escaped.

"Ruby, aren't you going to eat?" Pyrrha asked as the brunette took her seat. Ruby shook her head, she didn't feel like eating, her heart was too loud for her to focus on anything besides her escape plan. 

This didn't sit well with Pyrrha, however. She never liked it when Ruby would go to bed without a meal, so she handed over her cookie to her. "Pyrrha, no. That's yours. We rarely get anything decent in here. Keep it, I'm okay." 

Pyrrha refused to back down, "Ruby, you haven't eaten all day. If you don't eat it, then I won't eat it either." Pyrrha stood up to throw away her unfinished dinner, and the cookie. 

Before the red-head left the table, Ruby grabbed the back of Pyrrha shirt. "Fine--I'll eat it if it makes you feel better," Ruby muttered. 

Pyrrha smiled warmly and handed Ruby the cookie again. They both sat back down, and Ruby felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over her. 

The brunette felt bad for having to leave Pyrrha, but she knew that if they left together they would both be caught. And if Ruby got caught, she didn't want Pyrrha to be punished. 

If she escaped she would find some sort of help to break Pyrrha out from the outside, she would never be able to live with herself if Pyrrha had to stay there while she had her freedom. 

"Ruby, can I ask you a question?" 

"I think you just did Pyrrha.." She lightly hit Ruby's shoulder, "That's not what I meant. When we get out of here, what do you want to do?"

Sure Ruby had a plan to escape, but being free overrode her thoughts of what she wanted to do in the outside world. "I don't know, I never really gave it any thought. What about you?"

"Well.. It's strange, but I've always wanted to partake in some sort of tournament." 

Ruby quirked her eyebrow, "A tournament? Like a competition?"

"I guess so. The idea of competing for fun, something we never got to do. Wouldn't you be interested in having to do the things we do just for the fun of it?"

Doing things just for fun wasn't something Ruby was familiar with. All the things they had her do had purpose, a goal that needed to be met. There was never any mindlessness to it. There was always a purpose..

It was the whole reason she was there to begin with, "I-I.. I don't know," Ruby stammered.

Pyrrha giggled, "Well whatever you want to do, it'll be _just_ for you. You wouldn't need to worry about pleasing someone else. That's a nice thought, right?"

Ruby finished her cookie and dusted off her hand, "If you want to think of it that way. You really do love your fantasy and destiny talks. When was the last time you talked about destiny?"

Pyrrha giggled into her hand, "I'm not entirely sure, but I still believe in destiny--and perhaps we are destined to leave this place."

It was a nice thought, but even Ruby knew that it was unrealistic, even though she was planning to escape that night. "Always the optimist, Pyrrha. Sometimes I wonder if you ever dream about some sort of white knight... Do you?"

The nervous laugh that escaped from Pyrrha's lips gave Ruby the answer she needed, "What can I say, to think a brave white knight would save me from this world--as silly as it may be. Fantasies like these keep such a dull life some color."

"If you say so," Ruby shrugged, "I'm going to head in early. Good night, Pyrrha."

"Good night, Ruby," but before she could leave, Pyrrha hugged her gently.

When she was released from her grip, Ruby didn't respond with anything, being surprised by the embrace. Waving it off, she didn't mind it since it was from Pyrrha.

While walking back to her room, she ran into the one person, other than Pyrrha, that genuinely cared for her wellbeing. "Salutations, Little Ruby! Going to bed early?" Penny beamed. 

Penny Polendina was a very kind hearted person, even if she acted like a robot sometimes. She was strong, but gentle, Ruby always like that about her. But despite her kind nature, Ruby was left perplexed that someone like Penny would ever work in a place like this lab. 

"Mhm. I'm not feeling too well," Ruby replied. Penny frowned, "That's not good, would you like me to take you to Doctor Watts?"

Ruby vigorously shook her head, the last person she needed to see was that deranged maniac. 

"Nono.. I'm okay. Thank you for trying to help, Penny. I'll be fine," she said nervously. 

"If you say so. I must be going now. Good night and I hope you feel better!" And with that, Penny was gone. If there was one thing she could possibly ever miss about this horrendous place, was Penny.

When she made it back to her cell, she looked around to make sure there was no one in view. The complex had no cameras anywhere, so she never had to worry about that. After seeing no one was around, she slipped the bolt into the doorframe and made sure it wouldn't fall out. It fit perfectly.

She went inside her room and closed the door. She heard the door try to lock, but it hit against the bolt.

This was it. This would be when she would _finally_ leave this place. Satisfied with everything she could do as of now, waiting for dinner and everyone going back to their rooms was the last thing that needed to happen for her final move. 

The final stance she needed to take to win this game, "Your move, Watts."

12:00 A.M.

The complex was dead silent now. The faculty workers that stayed in the complex were already asleep, and those who didn't, left. Ruby quietly stood up from her bed, and grabbed all of her things. 

She peeked out of her room's door window, checking the hallways and seeing no one there. She quietly opened the door and made her way toward the one with the hallway. 

Opening the door with the keycard, she saw the hallway was long and barren, doors lining the walls, but the one she was looking for was straight ahead.

She quietly dashed down the hall and made it to the door marked 'exit' in big red words. It was almost to good to be true... that's because it was. 

The thing Ruby didn't anticipate for, was the touch-identify lock.

The _one_ thing in her way towards freedom, was some stupid high-tech lock. Ruby fell to her knees, freedom was right in front of her, yet it had never been further. 

Ruby put her hand on the cold, metallic surface of the door. She felt something in her hand flicker, then electricity charged out of her fingertips. The door clicked... then opened, revealing a white wasteland. 

"Snow..?" Before she could question it further, alarms rang throughout the complex, red lights blaring. She quickly stood up and made a run for the outside. Her feet kept getting stuck in the snow and she could hear people close behind her.

She thought she could make it out, she just needed to run faster, until something blocked her path once again. It was like a see-through fence. It was a hard-light dust fence. She banged her fist against it, "PLEASE! I'M ALMOST FREE!" Ruby yelled desperately. 

"THERE!" Someone from behind shouted. Before they could grab her, she charged towards one of the faculty workers and took a stab at him with her screw driver.

"AGH!! You stupid bitch!" She felt her face connect with one of their fists. The taste of blood overrunning her mouth.

She felt herself being pinned down, remembering her ability from earlier, her final attempt involved electrocuting the people who pinned her down, but it didn't work. Whatever power she had before, was gone, along with her hopes of escaping.

Through the snow, Ruby saw Penny near the entrance of the laboratory, a look of sadness and sympathy plastered all over her face. She felt her blood boil, tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 

Ruby didn't need that, she didn't need anyone's pity.

"Smart, Little Rose," Ruby looked up, Arthur Watts was still here. She hated his amused look on his face, she hated the nickname he gave her, she hated him with _every_ fiber of her being. He gave her a low laugh as he walked towards where she was being pinned down.

"I thought you were smart enough to know," he knelt down to her level," that you will **never** leave this place."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Ruby's escape attempt, Watts and the other Directors of the laboratory decided to put her in a high-tech specialized cell. She was not allowed to leave besides for training, which she had to be in alone. Her meals were brought to her, and she was put under watch 24/7. But after her display of power during the attempted escape, Watts decided it was about high time to introduce her to one of the people funding this project.

Because of Ruby's escape attempt, the Directors of the facility decided it was for the best, at least for themselves, that she be put under extreme watch and confinement. Her contact with Pyrrha was limited, and her meals were to be brought to her. 

The night of the escape, after bringing her back to her room, they searched and stripped her of all the things she used for her breakout. 

"What is this?" Watts questioned when he found her pendant. He froze after a closer inspection, Ruby was confused by his reaction. Surprisingly, Watts gave it back to Ruby, then left without another word. Ruby eyed her pendant, was it important, she thought to herself. Whatever it was, she held onto it a little bit closer than before.

If anything was for certain, this place was crap. The food they brought to her was blander than what they already had, the walls were replaced with cold steel instead of insulated concrete, and her bed wasn't even a bed anymore. It would've been comfier to sleep outside in the snow, but instead they gave her a blanket and a sheet of metal to sleep on.

She'd experience the cold, now she had to live with it.

During her new life of solitary, Pyrrha would only be allowed to visit for brief moments, and these visits would be rare. 

"Hey, Ruby," Pyrrha said softly. "Hi, Pyrrha," Ruby croaked. She was tired. She was so, so tired. 

Pyrrha ruffled through her pockets then pulled out a brand new leaf. "I asked Penny to get this for you," she said as she was handing it to Ruby. "Things will get better, Ruby. You said we would get out of here together, right?"

Was that even possible? Ruby's first plan was supposed to be her only plan. It was supposed to work, but it blew up in her face and she was suffering the consequences of it.

"Nikos, times up." The guard warned. Pyrrha nodded at the guard and started heading out. 

"I'll.. see you later." The door closed, and Ruby was alone again. She picked up the leaf, _"'You said we would get out of her together, right?'"_

The leaf was turning bright orange, the seasons were changing. Ruby felt her blood boil, she knew everything was changing around her but everything was changing for the worst.

Ruby crushed the leaf in her hand, and further curled into herself. "We're never getting out of here...."

Another two years of experiments, training, beatings, later, she was finally losing the last bit of her humanity. Pyrrha noticed this, too, but she wasn't able to do anything. 

With her limited contact with Ruby, and the amount of training she was required to do, she wasn't even able to be there as Ruby's friend. 

While Ruby was in confinement, Pyrrha had finally met the requirements the facility wanted her to meet. 

"Pyrrha Nikos should be about ready for Dust injections now," Ruby had heard through the door with her enhanced hearing, she was shocked. 

'They're planning to do those things to Pyrrha too?!' Ruby thought frantically. She heard the footsteps recede from her door and down the hall, "Wait!!" She rushed up and banged against the door. 

"Come back!! Please!" When the sound of footsteps made their way toward her door she knew she needed to think of what to say. 

"What do you want, Rose?" It sounded like Watts. 

"Please don't put Pyrrha through that! I-I.."

"Oh? What could you possibly offer me to make me stop? Haven't you realized that those injections were _just_ the things we were training your bodies and minds for??"

Of course... It was right in front of her. Why didn't she realize sooner, that all the children in this facility will eventually go through the same thing she had. "Please.. Just not Pyrrha. I-I'll.. uh.." What _could_ she give them.. besides..

"The tests you were going to do on Pyrrha.. All the training after the injections.. Give them to me! I'll take her place, I'll go through the extra tests.." Ruby offered, she put her forehead against the door in defeat. This was all she was able to give.

Ruby was already losing herself, losing her humanity. Pyrrha didn't need to go through that too. 

Her ears perked at the sound of Watts' laughing, followed by the click of the doors lock. She backed up, and as the door opened, was greeted by his smug expression. And in an instant she realized she had already lost. They would use her and push her past her limits, so long as Pyrrha was in their possession.

Ruby looked down at her feet and clenched her fists. "Well then," she glanced up and saw his disgusting grin, "shall we get started, Little Rose?"

The trainings were horrendous and the injections were numbing. They started bringing in creatures called 'the Grimm' for Ruby to fight, but they were nothing compared to the monsters that were already in the facility.

One day, during training, Ruby was nearly struck by an Ursa's claws, when suddenly she somehow found herself at the other side of the battle arena. And left in her wake was a trail of rose petals.

'A semblance..' Ruby thought. One of the educators held a lesson about the natural abilities that humans were gifted with, a semblance was one of them, and she had just showcased it to the people who would exploit every bit of it. 

A high-pitched frequency was blasted within the training arena. This noise was how the Directors controlled the Grimm from killing one of the children.

Normally, humans wouldn't be able to hear it, but because of Ruby's enhanced senses from the Dust injections, she could here it as well as the Grimm could. After the Grimm collapsed, the sound stopped. Ruby shakily removed her hands from her ears and saw a man with white hair and a white suit walk up to her. 

"So, you're Dust Specimen No. 1... You sure are impressive." Ruby tilted her head in confusion, this man wasn't a Director, and he was far too well dressed to be one of the regular faculty workers. 

"I hope the results are satisfactory for you, Mr. Schnee." 

'Schnee?' Ruby thought. Why was _he_ so important? She was growing impatient, she just wanted to get this stupid training session done and go back to her room. 

"Indeed, but I want to see something again." Just then, he pulled out a gun and Ruby instinctively used her semblance to move out of gunpoint. "Fascinating! You are a fine specimen!" 

Ruby felt something in her snapped, being called a 'specimen' pissed her off more than 'Little Rose.' She tried walking over to the two of them, but then stopped when the high-pitched frequency played once more. 

"And your hearing is impressive as well!" The Schnee was playing the noise from some sort of device. The noise stopped right when Ruby was about to pass out. 

He tucked his device away and smoothed out his clothing, "Watts, I'll be staying a few days to oversee this specimen. I want to see what other things she's capable of. Please have a room prepared for me." 

The Schnee made his way out of the room with Watts as Ruby was picked up to be brought back to her room.

Ruby didn't think it was possible, but while during Mr. Schnee's stay, things were going to become much harder.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacques Schnee was the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. He was one of the richest men in Atlas, so why would he fund a program like this?

#### Day 1 of Jacques' Stay

It was unexpected. Her body ached everywhere, her eyelids felt like weights that threatened to close, and the blood dripping down her face obscured her vision. 

This man in a suit, this. . . Schnee, had made her life much more agonizing than Watts. Ruby didn't think it was possible, but here she was, forced to take out more than fifty Grimm with just her semblance and Dust abilities. 

"Alright, that's enough," Jacques ordered. The high-pitched noise was sounded in the arena, causing the remaining Grimm to collapse, as well as Ruby, to curl into a ball on the floor, covering her ears. 

Once the frequency stopped, she groaned in pain and saw Jacques walking up to her. 

The hateful look returned to fill her eyes, then suddenly, he picked her up by the front of her shirt. "You held back.." He said in a low voice.

Ruby froze, she didn't understand how he could've possibly noticed. "You let yourself be injured, so I would be forced to end the match early."

Jacques dropped her back onto the ground, making his way back to the exit, "If you keep this up.. Then my few days of stay here will be your _worst_ days of your pathetic life.."

Back in her room, already patched up, she felt a burning sensation in her chest. It hurt, but at the same time it gave her energy. This was the Dusts' response to her emotions. Her hatred..

She knew Jacques meant every word he said, that he would make every second of her life much more miserable so long as he was there, if that was even possible. The brunette knew that if she didn't meet his expectation, Pyrrha would dragged into this, too. 

She gripped the sides of her head tightly, feeling the animosity build inside of her. And as soon as it came, it left just as quickly, leaving her feeling powerless. Would things always be this way? Is this all she'll ever know..? 

She didn't want to think about it anymore, so she buried herself in her sheets. The realm of her dreams had always been kinder than the reality she was living in.

#### Day 2 of Jacques' Stay

"Stop the match!" Jacques fumed. The two men sparring with Ruby backed off, "What was that performance, Rose?! Those two should've been done for by now?!" He shouted through a speaker. 

The feedback from the speaker made Ruby wince, her senses were only getting more powerful. It should've felt cool, knowing that she has abilities no other mortal has, but also knowing were they came from left a sick feeling in her stomach.

Ruby looked up to the man controlling this match, his glare constantly looking down at her.

He was watching the match from an observation deck with other Directors, and Watts. Ruby didn't say anything, she just faced toward her enemies. Before she could continue, however, that same dreaded pitch rang out in the arena, causing Ruby to clasp her hands on her ears.

"I know you're smart, Rose, but you should know by now.. You _won't_ be able to defy me.."

Ruby was left in another room while the White Devil and the Demon Doctor talked. . . Enhancing her hearing, their conversation was as clear as day. 

"I-I'm so sorry sir, I didn't know she would give you such an attitude," Watts stuttered. 

"Don't forget Watts, I'm the one funding your little program, so you get that pest under control, or I pull all your funding." There was silence, like you could cut the tension in the air.

"If I may ask, Mr. Schnee. Why fund this program? I don't see why a military project would be in your interest, so why fund a program that made humans into war weapons?" 

'War weapons? What war required making children go through their twisted experiments? What's going on outside?' It was all piecing together now, all the trainings, injections, and military thought process they had drilled into her head. 

It was because they were making children into weapons of war.

Jacques' laughing pulled her out of her trance, "Why? Because it'll make me profit. If all this works out, then everyone would want to do it. In this time of war, everyone is looking to get stronger. Dust will fly off the shelves, it'll go out of stock, and I'll be at the top of it all!"

"But what happens when people figure out what it was that got you to the top?"

"Don't you see, Watts? I'm one of the most powerful men in Atlas, I have connections everywhere, and I'll become even more powerful when I get a seat on that council. If there's anything that could slander my name, I will find it. . . and snuff it out."

She didn't think she could be more disgusted in this man, but he really did love pushing past her expectations.

Watts came into the room Ruby was staying in, he didn't wear his usual amused face.

**Slap**

"You insolent, little brat!" Watts yelled, "Do you realize what you could've risked with your stupid attitude?! You will listen to Jacques' orders! You will **not** ruin this!" 

She couldn't care less for what he wanted, this whole thing was useless to her anyway. She never wanted to be a weapon for a war she didn't even know anything about. A small light crept it's way into the room, and through the crack of the door she saw Penny. 

Day after day, Ruby's disdain and distrust for Robotic Soldier only grew. She was supposed to protect the children, what a hell of a job she was doing.

Penny had the same pitiful look on her face, Ruby hated that look. She didn't need _anyone's_ pity. Ruby _needed_ to get out of this place. She didn't want to be someone's damn war weapon.

Watts smoothed out his hair, "If you continue to act like this.. You're life won't be the only one on the line. . ." Everything in her froze, she knew what he implied. They not only had her life on the line, but Pyrrha's as well.

Watts smirked, "Well? Are you going to obey?" Ruby clenched her teeth and reluctantly nodded.

"Smart choice, Little Rose.."

#### Day 3 of Jacques' Stay

"Ruby..?" She heard Pyrrha come into her room, but she didn't want Pyrrha to see her all battered and bruised, so she faced toward the wall away from her.

Pyrrha sat down next to her, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, causing the younger girl to flinch. "Ruby? What happened to you? You're bruised all over.." 

She didn't answer, instead deciding to pull her blanket closer to her chin. "Ruby. . Talk to me. We're in this together, right? You need to talk to me.." Ruby couldn't even look at Pyrrha, she was too ashamed. . Too ashamed of herself.

"Nikos. Time to go.." Pyrrha nodded at the guard, but before she left a leaf and a flower for Ruby. It was routine at this point for Pyrrha to leave something from the outside for her. It was supposed to be a symbol of hope that one day they wouldn't need to request to see the outside, that they could one day see it for themselves. 

But Ruby had already seen the outside, and it was just a reminder that she'd never be able to see it again.

She didn't even have the time to sulk when the guards took her from her room and to another training session. 

Thrown into the arena of the White Devil, she saw that Grimm littered the grounds. "Alright, Rose. You know the drill.." Jacques ordered.

Ruby was reluctant, her thoughts continued to overwhelm her mind so much so that she couldn't fight at even fifty-percent. After about fifteen minutes, Jacques had had enough.

"Cut the match!" The same frequency rung out, the Grimm all collapses but it didn't stop. "You still continue to betray my orders, this is what happens when you defy me. Bring her in!" 

Ruby was too disoriented from the noise to know what was going on, but the flash of red was all it took for Ruby to come back. 

"Pyrrha!!" Ruby saw her friend tied up unconscious. The high frequency pitch had stopped, but the collar from Ruby's neck shocked her. This halted any chance of advancing forward to save Pyrrha.

The Grimm started to rise from their unconscious state, they were now eyeing the red-head that was tied up on the floor.

"PLEASE STOP!! I'LL FIGHT FOR YOU! JUST LET HER GO!" Ruby pleaded, she extended her hand, reaching for Pyrrha. 

"You should've listened to me, Rose. Now suffer the consequences!" The Grimm all lunged towards Pyrrha.

"PYRRHA!!!" Then the entire arena was filled with white light. When the light faded, all the Grimm had disintegrated. Pyrrha was left unharmed. 

The collar had stopped completely, allowing Ruby to rush over to aid her friend. "Pyrrha! Wake up! Are you okay?!" 

Pyrrha started stirring awake, a dazed look filled her eyes, "Ruby. .?" 

Ruby felt a wave of relief wash over her, but a feeling of intense pain around her neck cut that feeling short. She fell to the floor in agony.

"Ruby?!" Pyrrha shrieked in concern. She tried making her way towards Ruby, but the guards took a hold of her arm and began dragging her out of the room. "What the- Let go of me! She's hurt!" 

Ruby lifted her shaking hand, once again trying to reach out for Pyrrha, but she was blocked from her sight when a familiar pair of dress shoes walked in front of her line of sight.

The collar was deactivated, but Ruby was too weak to move.

"It worked..." Jacques marveled. He started laughing, causing a shiver to run through Ruby's spine, "It worked!! Your silver eyes _are_ functional!" He resounded

'Silver eyes..?' Ruby thought in confusion. She didn't care, she was just glad Pyrrha was out of harm's way.

"Now that we know your silver eyes really work, we'll need to run several tests. With that in combination with your semblance and Dust abilities. . You'll be the perfect weapon!"

"You absolute psychopath. . ." Ruby sneered. 

The White Devil started laughing, "Says the monster herself.."

#### Day 4 of Jacques' Stay

White light filled the arena when Ruby activated her silver eyed ability for the umpteenth time that day.

She knew that if Jacques didn't see her perform at her _absolute_ best, the same nightmare from yesterday would repeat.

It was infuriating, he had her stringed up like a puppet. A puppet is meant to be played and do whatever it's master wills it to. But when the puppet goes out of control, it'll be labeled defective.

Or the things the lonely puppet holds dear will be considered a useless distraction.

Pyrrha was Ruby's blade, the blade that helped cut Ruby from her strings, but once the White Devil entered the picture. . Pyrrha's blade had dulled and was rendered useless.

Fighting her way through was Ruby's only way of making sure the dulled-blade wouldn't get thrown to the scrapheap. Through all the Grimm and people, Ruby would fight them all.

She would fight anyone she had to in this puppet master's play.

This was her life, everyone besides Pyrrha was her enemy. Ruby may have been polished to be a war weapon, but no one was on her side.

Not Grimm, nor man. . . She was alone.

#### Day 5 of Jacques' Stay

**ROARRRRRR**

"100.." Ruby had slain the hundredth Grimm. Her eyes drooped with exhaustion, arms numb from her Dust output, and her aura low because of her frequent use of her semblance. 

She expected another fifty Grimm to come her way, but they just stopped. Through the glass of the observation room, she saw Jacques take some kind of call. He looked distressed, that filled Ruby with satisfaction.

The training for that day was cut short for. . whatever reason. Jacques left early from the complex, it sounded urgent. Ruby didn't care for the reason, she was just relieved that psychopath was gone.

Alarms started blaring throughout the building, lights were flashing red. "WATTS! IT'S THEM! THE TURNED HAVE FOUND US!!" 

This was the first time Watts had actually looked terrified, the Turned weren't creatures Ruby had the chance to spar with, but she knew of their raw strength. 

'But if they're here that means..' Ruby heard a shrill scream in the halls.

"Pyrrha!"

Ruby ran off to search for red-headed friend, she was horrified when she saw most of the faculty workers in a pool of their own blood. Even if it was a horrific sight, she only cared about finding Pyrrha.

Scouring the halls, there was no sign of her, she wasn't even found in her room. The mess hall was the next place to check. 

Ruby felt her heart pounding in her ears, her breathing picking up. She would never be able to forgive herself if Pyrrha got hurt. That was the whole reason Ruby endured this much pain in the first place.

Thoughts surged through her head, 'Where the hell is Penny?! She was supposed to protect this place, right!? Why were the Turned here?! What did they want?!'

"Pyrrha!? Pyrrha!?," Ruby shouted, "Pyrrha, where are you?! This isn't fun. . .ny-" She was too late. 

Pyrrha was dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penny Polendina was nowhere to be seen during the attack at the lab. She was supposed to be protecting it, so why wasn't she?

#### Two Days Before the Attack on the Lab

Qrow was on his way back to Patch after a reconnaissance mission, he was in desperate need of a drink.

After landing, Qrow made his way to their local bar, but not before being stopped by a young woman in uniform. "What the- You need something, kid?" Qrow questioned the girl.

He examined her and saw she was wearing an Atlas Specialist uniform, 'This is one of Jimmy's tools..' 

The girl pulled out a form of ID, showing it to Qrow, "I'm Special Operative Penny Polendina. You are Qrow Branwen, yes? I need to speak with you." 

Qrow clicked his tongue and ripped his arm away from her, "Listen, I don't want to hear whatever headache Jimmy wants to give me, so make your way back to Atlas and have him speak to me himself." Qrow waved her off and started his way to the bar.

"You have familial connections to Ruby Rose, yes?" Qrow stopped in his tracks, "I know information that you might want to hear-" 

Qrow grabbed the front of her uniform, his brows furrowed, "What the _hell_ do you know. . . I've been searching for years, and you're telling me you have information?" 

"I know her location, I know what she's gone through for the past eight years, and I can take you to her.." 

Qrow withdrew his shaky hand from her, the information given to him was too overwhelming. He hadn't heard anything after Ruby was kidnapped for the eight years she was missing.

Now this woman comes along out of nowhere claiming to have known everything that has transpired for the passed eight years.. 

Qrow glared at her, "How do you possibly know all this...?"

"I-I.. I was hired to protect a lab. A lab that did human experiments on children. . " Penny admitted. 

He felt his heart sink, his petal had gone through eight years of human experimentations. His teeth clenched, "Does James know about this?" Anger laced in his words.

Penny shook her head, " No. . If he knew I would've lost my position, General Ironwood didn't know the details of it." Penny felt Qrow grip the front of her shirt again, "And you didn't do _anything_?! You knew human experimentations were happening, and you did jackshit about it?!" He seethed.

Penny didn't speak, he was right. All Penny did was follow orders and watch the children be put into awful experiments. She heard drunkard heavily sigh and let go of the uniform.

"Where is this lab?"

"It's in the Continent of Solitas, no one could find it because it had natural barriers like mountains to cover it. It's in the White Wasteland."

The White Wasteland was an infamous part of Solitas. It was so far away from the Atlas District that no one dared venture out. Not to mention that the blistering colds and constant snowfall made it hard to even survive out there. Making it the perfect place to hide something that doesn't want to be found.

"I need to inform my teammate. Then we leave." He started to Tai's house but stopped when Penny wasn't following. "You're coming too, I don't want you out of my sight."

When they made it to the Xiao Long residence, Penny did her best to sum up the past eight years that Ruby had to endure.

They tried to be civil, but it was hard to when finding out the child they had lost was forced to become a player in an adult's game. Forced to fight in a world she barely knew anything about.

"Ruby hasn't seen the outside world in eight years, and they're polishing her to fight in a war she doesn't even know about?? These people are disgusting," Tai scowled.

"Arthur Watts was known as the Mad Atlesian Scientist, but this.. This is psychotic.. Tai we need to go. We know where she is, if we go together we can storm the place," Qrow stated.

"As much as I want to see Ruby and rescue her, we can't right now. Not with Yang here alone. I want to go just as much as you do, but we can't leave my child here while we travel to literally another continent,"

Although Qrow hated it, he knew Tai was right. They couldn't leave a fourteen-year-old alone while they embark on a trip. Qrow felt a hand on his shoulder, Tai gave him a sympathetic look.

"She'll be fine, Qrow. From what Penny said, they won't do anything to Ruby if it threatens their experiments." 

He gave a heavy sigh, but nodded reluctantly at Tai, "Okay.." Qrow pointed at Penny, "You are staying here tonight, so you sleep on the couch, I'm going to get a drink."

Qrow's head pounded like someone was using it as a bass drum. A few drinks should numb the pain.

He greeted the bartender as he walked in and ordered a drink. He couldn't stop wondering about what Ruby would be like after eight years, she would be twelve when they rescue her.

Questions that would soon be answered, and even though he longed to be with Ruby again, the product of being experimented on for eight years made Qrow's blood boil. 

"We going to get her back, Summer.."

The next day arrived and Tai called up Yang's usual caretaker, "Thank you for doing this. Sorry it was such short notice."

Kameron , Yang's caretaker, smiled warmly, "It's no problem Tai! I love watching over Yang." 

"Where are you and Uncle Qrow going?" Yang questioned.

"Your Uncle and I are going on a mission, we'll be back soon. So you better be good until we get back."

Yang smiled, "Of course I will! You guys just be safe, okay?" Tai pulled Yang into a hug, "Of course my sunny dragon. We'll be back before you know it."

And with that, they made their way to Solitas.

Solitas was a day's trip away, and the trio had departed from Patch during midday, their search would begin the midday of the attack.

Because of the blistering colds, they borrowed a military vehicle from the furthest base that oversaw the outskirts of Atlas. They were granted it because of their collective ranks and licenses.

"Achoo!" Qrow sneezed, even with all the traveling Qrow had to do, the cold was his least favorite climate to travel into. "It's so damn cold. I don't get how you Atlas people deal with this on a daily basis."

Penny was behind the wheel, since she was the only one who knew where to go. "You get used to it when you live here for your whole life," she shrugged.

It had been hours, the sun starting to set, "How far is this place? We've driving for a bit. ." Tai asked patiently. "It's far. They set up so far away so no one would ever happen to stumble upon it. Add that with being in the White Wasteland, and it becomes one of the most secretive labs out there," Penny explained. 

"I need to ask you something," Qrow started, "Why didn't you do anything? You knew that children were being taken away and used as lab rats, so why?"

The car turned silent, the sound of traveling over snow was all that could be heard. 

Penny heavily sighed, a regretful look painted over her face, "I couldn't. I was desperate for money, so I took any job that paid well." She gripped the steering wheel tighter, her knuckles turning white. "I received the job from one the Directors of the lab, I was only told that I would be protecting a building that was manufacturing war weapons. I had no idea that those 'weapons' were children."

Her gaze hardened, all the shame that built up was cracking her exterior. "This was an illegal job, so I couldn't tell anyone."

"Why tell us now, why risk everything all of a sudden," Qrow questioned. The sun had now set, leaving the starry night sky and making the snow shine from vehicle's headlights.

"Because the Dust experimentations were only the tip of the iceberg. It's known that the Maidens and the Huntsman are the only ones that could go head to head with the Grimm without having the entire assistance of the military. Well. . what if we made our own version of the Grimm? What if we combined superhuman children with monstrous capabilities?"

Qrow and Tai became silent, tension in the air was thick. Qrow grit his teeth, "How would they even do that? Grimm don't even have the ability for complex thought except for-'"

"The Turned," Tai cut in. Penny nodded, "The Turned, and all other Grimm, have the desire for destruction. They don't care for anything else, they serve and destroy. So what if we made a creature that could topple the Grimm, a creature with a strong sense for preservation, the will to protect all life, but didn't care for their own. . Creatures that could destroy the ones who seek to snuff out all life."

"But they're just children!!" Qrow snapped. 

"Children with superhuman senses and abilities. With the children the lab has groomed, they could take out a horde of Grimm, and even take out a Turned solo. And when they add anti-Grimm into their systems, they become the ultimate weapons for war. Ruby was their finest soldier, and was always the first test." 

The two Huntsman were speechless, human experimentation was nothing new, but it wasn't common either. And to discover the kind of things that were put on a member of their family, a child even. Well. . it's a good thing they weren't able to destroy anything. . yet.

"We're almost there. The mountains are in vie-" 

There was smoke coming from the laboratory.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pyrrha was gone. Ruby had lost her blade, what else did she have left now?

#### The Attack

There was so much red, and it wasn't her hair. 

Ruby rushed over to Pyrrha and fell on her knees. "Pyrrha.." Ruby choked.

She heard footsteps behind her, "There's still one left? Might as well make this quick." She turned around, her eyes growing wide. "A Turned.."

Her body shook with anger, the reason her friend was dead in her arms, was because of these creatures. Ruby gently laid Pyrrha down on the ground and faced toward her enemy taking a fighting stance.

"Hm? You fight, kid? Well, this will be fun," the Turned smirked. 

Ruby rushed towards her enemy with the Fire Dust activated in her fists. The Turned dodged the fist that swung near it's face, "Woah! Didn't know you humans could do that. Must've been the experiments."

Activating her Gravity Dust, the brunette leaped over her enemy and connected her fist to their back, "Gonna take more than a punch to kill me, kid," they mocked.

She gave the Turned a death glare, "Die.." Ruby snapped her fingers and the Turned exploded. She had tagged them with Explosive Dust. 

The bloodlust Ruby felt was not to be underestimated, the anger that brewed in her was more than anyone could compare. All the anger from the years of torment all built up into one moment.

It's like if you stole a Beowolf away from it's pack, and killing was the only thing left on it's mind.

The explosive was powerful but not enough, the creature of Grimm stood up with a smile plastered on it's face. Sounds of bones crackling, breaking and reforming to fix what was destroyed, "So you're the most powerful of the batch, Dust Specimen No. 1."

Ruby felt her blood boil, if there was anything she hated more than the White Devil or the Demon Doctor, was being called that.

They charged at her, swinging their fist toward her face, Ruby was just barely able to parry their attack. This caused her to leap back, but the Turned wasn't far behind, giving a flurry of attacks against Ruby.

The brunette burst into roses and ended up behind the enemy again, but before she could strike them, they burst into black roses. 

Ruby was stunned, but she was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a foot connect to her back, shooting her forward. This was something Ruby forgot they could do.

They could copy semblances.

"Nice semblance, kid. You remind me of this one huntress I saw, you kind of look like her too!" 

She could care less about what this creature had to say, she just wanted to kill them. Ruby wanted this fight to end, so she tried activating her silver-eyed ability. But for some reason it didn't work.

"You gonna stare me to death? Come at me!" They mocked. Ruby clenched her fists, this time using the Gravity Dust. Ruby struck the enemy in the face, causing them to float. Leaping into the air, Ruby switched to using Lightning Dust and slamming the Turned into the ground with hands connected.

"AGH!" They choked out. She tried using her silver eyes again, but to no avail. The Turned shakily stood up looking enraged, but once again they started smiling, "If I took you back, you'd make a good addition to our army. . You're already built like a soldier." The stoic child scoffed, this Grimm really was going to try and take her back. Make her fight in a war she had no idea of. "Not a chance, Grimm. ." 

The kept exchanging blows, the stoic weapon, and the talkative enemy.

"You think you're different from the other specimen?!"

Another strike.

"You're just a weapon!!"

Another strike.

"But I guess the dead red-head is one of the weaker ones."

Ruby froze, giving the creature a chance to connect their fist to her face. She tumbled to the ground. The Turned put their foot onto Ruby's back, "You're just a tool in our war.."

Suddenly, she felt they're hand grip her head, a painful sensation filled her senses. Somehow, it felt worse than the Dust injections she has had over the years. 

She tried clawing they're hands off her head, but she felt her resolve failing. Whatever they were doing to her, it made her dizzy, her mind and memories getting muddled. 

What the Turned didn't account for was that they were also making her relive memories. 

_"Hello again!"_

_"Good morning, Little Rose. ."_

_"You won't be able to defy me. ."_

_"Specimen". . . "Pest"_

_"You said that we would get out of here together, right?"_

The memories the Grimm was messing with was becoming blurry, but there are some memories that could not be washed away so easily, even if they were the ones Ruby never wanted to remember.

The burning sensation she's felt ever since this place took her away from the world had never burned more. This burning was a sensation she would _never_ forget. 

Anger, resentment, and disgust. The feelings that were always constant in _her_ world.

Her mind grew hazy, the sensation getting stronger. Ruby had no one left, meaning everyone was her enemy now.

The Turned grew surprised when Ruby still had the strength to fight against the force pushing her down. Ruby had had enough and with Pyrrha gone. . .

Nothing else mattered other than eradicating the enemy.

Ruby let out an angry shriek, her body glowing different colors of Dust. The Turned didn't have time to react when different types of Dust exploded outward from Ruby's body.

With the amount of raw Dust that was exuded from Ruby, not even the Turned survived, along with the lab. 

Ruby was still left alive, exhausted, but alive. She turned onto her back, and for the first time since her escape attempt, she saw the night sky. Stars splattered all over it's face, and the moon shining it's comforting light onto her.

Ruby looked over to Pyrrha's body. It was still intact despite the preceding events. 

Trying the best she could, with what little power she could muster, crawled over to Pyrrha. After getting as close as she could, she collapsed right next to her friend's lifeless body.

Ruby could see the amount of injuries and wounds Pyrrha had attained, most likely from tonight. Throughout her years in the lab, she did whatever she could to make sure Pyrrha was never harmed, and for her to end up like this. .

It felt like she could die a thousand times over and never be able to feel worse than she did right now.

She furrowed her brows and turned back to the sky. Her voice caught in her throat, but she needed to talk to Pyrrha one last time before the cold could have it's chance to kill her off.

"Look Pyrrha. It's the sky, I got us outside. ." Eight long years, and this was the day Ruby would shed her first tears. "I forgot to ask, but what kind of tournament did you want to join. Maybe we could've joined it together" She could hear Pyrrha's voice echo in her head, but she couldn't imagine a response.

Only Pyrrha could know what to respond with.

Ruby sniffled, "I-I'm-- I'm sorry Pyrrha-- I should've stayed by your side, I should've protected you better, kept you out of harm's way. I'm so sorry," she said in a broken voice.

"Now you're gone, and I can't even say goodbye to you. ." Ruby felt her eyes droop, exhaustion finally getting to her. 

"If it's worth anything, I probably would've stayed by your side the entire time we were out of this place. Anything you'd want to do, I would've done it with you-"

But before she fell victim to sleep, she saw a shadow hang over her, the smell of alcohol filled her senses.

"Petal.."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Laboratory was gone, the Turned killed, and Pyrrha was dead. Ruby had nothing left to go back to, so what is going to be her next step forward?

"Ruby?"

Ruby was surrounded by mist, she tried to make sense of her surroundings but her mind was muddled. 

"Ruby?" 

There it was again, that voice. "Pyrrha? Where are you?" Ruby cried out. Suddenly, the mist cleared and she was standing in an arena. The stands filled with onlookers, people cheering but it was not eligible enough to know what they were cheering for. 

Ruby looked at what she was wearing, some kind of combat uniform. 'What is this. . Where am I??' A hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts, "Hey... Are you alright?"

Pyrrha Nikos, but it wasn't, it was some kind of older version of her. "I-I'm fine.." Pyrrha looked at her in concern, "Are you getting cold feet? It's okay, it is our _first_ tournament." That's right, Pyrrha always wanted to join a tournament, that's why they were there.

But it was all wrong, as much as she didn't want to admit it, Pyrrha was supposed to be gone. Pyrrha was dead.

However, if she was given the chance to be by Pyrrha's side, even for a little, she was going to take it.

Ruby shook her head, "Of course not. You think I'm backing out now? This is our time now..." Ruby looked forward, but the arena was gone now. All that was left was snow and what was left of the ruined lab. Ruby looked around frantically, she found herself in her old lab uniform. "Pyrrha?!" She yelled in panic.

The brunette looked forward and saw Pyrrha, the wound that had killed her was on her body. Ruby fell back in surprise, "Why didn't you protect me, Ruby?? Why did you let them do it??" Pyrrha questioned. The words that left her mouth were echoed, like they would never fade away.

Ruby never wanted to leave Pyrrha behind, she just didn't have any time. Time was one of the things they could never have together, at least not in the way she wanted them to be.

Ruby averted her gaze, she couldn't look at her. She felt a cold hand on her chin pull her towards the last face she wanted to see. Slowly opening her eyes, she couldn't erase the image even if she wanted to. 

Blood dripping from Pyrrha's head, eyes devoid of life, and red tears streaming from it's source. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME??!!"

"I'M SORRY!" Ruby covered her face with her arms held up. Shakily lowering them, she realized she was in a bed, a proper bed. Chirping outside made her flinch, no wildlife was ever near the lab, so where was she?

She quickly stood from the bed, wobbling a little after standing up. She took in her surroundings, a single twin-sized bed, a room was filled with warm, autumn colors, and windows that actually gave view to the outside. Ruby thought whatever this place was, it was vastly different from the laboratory.

There were shelves along the walls, they held figurines that were of the Grimm. Ruby scoffed at the creatures, everywhere she went they seemed to appear.

She sat back down on the bed, dipping down as she put her weight on it. The brunette wasn't used to this, or she's never experienced this. She was always used to sleeping on a hard sheet of metal, and for the first time this is when she actually gets to hear the sounds of birds chirping. It was all so unreal, Ruby figured she must've been dreaming again, a dream within a dream.

Out of nowhere, her head began throbbing and now she was recalling the events of that dreaded night.. The destruction she caused to the lab... And who she lost as a result..

A chill ran down her spine, bits and pieces of her memories have been messed with and muddled, like they've been tampered with. The Grimm must've done something to her head when she was in their grasp.

She wanted to rip her scalp apart, frustrated with the events that had become a part of her life. She didn't cry, no, she was holding back screams of anguish, left to echo in her mind.

Ruby knew there was a war, she just didn't expect it to be going on in her head. Her mind was a ticking time bomb, it was only a matter of time before she snapped. And it wouldn't be the first time when she finally does.

The destroyed lab and Turned were evidence of that.

The door to the room slowly creaked open, and entered a man that reeked of alcohol and had messy hair. 

Ruby shot up from the bed and stood defensively, ready to fight her way out of this situation, but she was surprised when this man gave Ruby a teary-eyed stare, "You're awake..."

He started advancing toward Ruby-which of course did not sit well with her. 

"Stay back!" She shouted as she flared up. The man held up his hands and took a few steps back, "Hey, hey, it's okay. I won't hurt you," he said in a soft tone.

She sneered at him and glowed more, "Who are you, and what is this place? Why am I here?"

"My name is Qrow Branwen. I took you here after we found you in the outskirts of Atlas, you're in a place called Patch." He informed, still talking in a soft tone.

"I didn't mean to startle you, I mean you no harm. I'm a relative of yours," he said while taking a seat in the floor.

The brunette was skeptical, anyone could say that, how did she know this _Qrow_ was telling the truth. "Prove you're my relative, anyone can say that..." 

Without any hesitation, Qrow reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. It held an image of a woman and...

"Is that.. me..?" She said in disbelief, no longer flaring as much as before. She couldn't imagine that bright-eyed little child was her--and how tainted she was now. 

Ruby noticed another person in the picture, a woman with a white cloak, and hair tipped with red. "That woman is my-"

"Mother. Her name is Summer Rose." Qrow informed, "She was one hell of a fighter, so fast that as soon as you noticed she was even on the field the fight was already over.." He look at the picture and smiled at it sadly.

"You were taken away when you were four, she stopped at nothing to find you. She did everything she could, but your captors covered up everything, we couldn't do anything to find you."

Ruby sat down on the floor, until now she didn't know that she would have a family outside the lab. They were even searching for her, it was all unbelievable. 

She looked up at Qrow, "I-uh... I can't believe it... I want to believe it-" pausing, she took in a deep breath.

"I have more questions, how are we related? You said you were my relative, in what way? How can I trust you?"

Qrow scratched the back of his neck, clearing a question he didn't want to answer. He unfolded the picture again, revealing himself within the picture, "Well, it's complicated." 

Ruby tilted her head in confusion, "So complicated you can't explain it to me? I may be a child, but I'm smart enough to know that you're just not wanting to tell me," she pressed.

Qrow had a nervous look on his face, this was obviously something he didn't want to explain.

"Qrow," Ruby said impatiently.

He sighed heavily, "I am your biological father, but if you had stayed you would never have known. Your mother and I came up with a story that just be an honorific relative, but now is not the time for those kinds of stories, especially with what you've been though." 

The young fighter was taken aback, now this was something she didn't understand. Was this a thing people did in the regular world? "Wait-why?! Why would you hide the fact that you're my real father?"

Qrow had a somber look on his face, "You know what a semblance is right?" She nodded, "Well, mine is misfortune. I bring about bad luck everywhere I go.. To enemies, friends.. and family," he explained the latter while pointing to Ruby. 

"You deserved a father that wouldn't bring you harm, a father who could always be there. It was no help that my job meant making a lot of enemies. If they found out about you and your mom, well, I might've lost my family a lot sooner than I thought."

Ruby furrowed her brows, it was frustrating to listen to, but it was logical in a sense. She didn't know his story, she had no right to tell him right from wrong-besides she was new to this world and its teachings. Understanding when she didn't want to, it was the rational thing to do, he was the only one trying to gain her trust so far since waking up. 

She knew enough about the kind of monsters that were out there, not just the Grimm could be horrifying.

"I'll try to understand-That doesn't mean I'm not upset... You would've left me in the dark if I didn't ask now. You would've left my mother alone, to raise a child. I would've been alone."

"That's not necessarily true," Qrow explained. Ruby quirked her head, "How so?"

Qrow shuffled through his pockets, unveiling another picture of a blonde man and little girl. "The man's name is Tai, and his daughter is Yang, they're also your family. They would've looked out for you and your mom, they already were before you-" He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, you would've never been alone, everyone that was in your life would still be there for you, even now."

She was speechless, it's not like she didn't believe it, everything was just really hard to process. Everything she ever knew became contradictory to everything she was now discovering, and honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way.

She was cautious of course, like she knew before, monsters could even be people if they hid well enough.

"Where are they? You said they'd be there for me, I'm assuming they still would, especially now."

"They're out running errands, you've been out of commission for two days. Must've been quite the fight considering the damage you dealt."

Ruby cringed at the memory, out of all the memories the Turned had messed with, that one remained as clear as day.

Something else caught Ruby's attention, sure her birth father was here, and her other relatives were out running errands, but shouldn't the person who has been trying the hardest to find her be here as well? 

"Is-Is my mother here? Wouldn't she want to see me the most?" She questioned innocently.

Qrow stood up slowly, taking one step forward to see if it was okay to be near her. Seeing no action indicating otherwise, he slowly made his way toward her. He knelt down and put his hand on her head, "Your mom went missing two years ago, I believe you should've been ten at the time. We don't know if she's alive or not." He quietly said to her.

It was quiet, too quiet, but thoughts boomed in Ruby's head. Questions that still remained unanswered.

Gritting her teeth, she felt herself getting worked up, until rationality took over. She wanted to scream, cry, break something, but now wasn't the time for that and Ruby knew that.

Qrow mentioned, or rather, didn't mention finding a body, so there was a possibility of her mother being out there. A very _slim_ possibility.

"You don't know if she's dead or not, right? At least there's a chance she could be alive." He looked at her in surprise, the girl the lab has groomed into their soldier, in all the years she was gone, he never would've guessed such a fire could be in her eyes.

"If there was anything I learned, though, it's to keep expectations low in the chance of disappointment. I just wished this wouldn't be one of those times.."

Qrow gave her a sympathetic look, he expected her to lash out, or at least show emotion, then he remembered where it was they rescued her from. He couldn't blame her, he'd probably act the same cold way as her.

That wasn't going to stop him from warming the icy exterior that had hidden his bright child.

Qrow stood up, Ruby doing the same, "Come on, you haven't eaten anything since you've been out. Let's fix you up something to eat."

"Yes, sir," Ruby said, standing at attention like a good soldier.

Qrow stilled, he looked back at her and saw a soldier, but that's not supposed to be who she was. He didn't want her to act like a pawn in some chess game. "Uh-kid, it's okay. You don't have to do that, not anymore."

Ruby looked at him in confusion, was she not supposed to address people in such a manner? Of course, if she learned anything from the few moments of being awake in this new world that it would be contradicting her _orginal_ learnings a lot.

Sitting down at the island, she debated on touching the smooth surface but decided against it. She had never been able to see how food was prepared, so it was interesting watching Qrow fix up even a simple meal. 

There was so much noise around the house, even if you couldn't really notice them, but because of Ruby's super senses she picked up on everything. Even the littlest noises would make her paranoid.

Instead of trying to actively block out all the noises, she thought it would be better to try and zone out and wander around in her mind. Qrow seemed safe enough for Ruby to allow herself to let her mind wander, and if things ever went south, her superhuman capabilities would most likely tower over him.

She tried her best to recall her memories and see how much had been messed up. Then she realized she couldn't remember the Demon Doctor's name, or even the White Devil's for that matter, which frustrated her to no end.

Trying to recall her old memories seemed to be all in vein. Despite the short amount of time she was in the Turned grasp, they had gotten a hold of a good lot of her memories.

Everything she tried recalling them they came up in blurs. 

The Demon Doctor and White Devil's face were nothing more than a bushy mustache and a blob of white.

"Are you okay.?" Qrow's voice cut through the Ruby's thoughts, startling her. 

"I'm fine," she snapped. Realizing her tone of voice, she held her head down in shame.

Qrow, not wanting to make this situation any more awkward, gave the meal to Ruby, "Here you go." Eyeing it suspiciously, she wondered why it was so... warm. 

"Uh-What is this? And why is it.. hot?"

Qrow quirked an eyebrow, "It's just some mac and cheese? It was the best I could cook up with what we had. It's good warm... Did you not eat things like this at the... that place?"

"All we ate were rations, we'd only get baked good on super rare days... Other than that we didn't get the same luxury of eating without consequence. We had to eat to survive, even if we were given scraps." She shuddered.

Hearing a sigh, she looked up and saw Qrow grabbing an extra fork and took a small bite from the food, indicating it was edible. "The world is scary, I won't lie," he started.

He leaned against the island and gave her a warm look," ..but there is so much more to the world than just surviving. There's bits of fun in menial tasks, and I will show you every bit of it. I don't expect you to trust right away, heck, I don't even expect you to trust regular food right away. That's okay, no ones going to rush you, you're allowed to take your time. I promise.."

Ruby furrowed her eyes, she never thought that there would be a time in her life where she could take it slow-to take it easy, even. Now she was being presented the chance to do things at her own pace and not at some schedule she didn't even consent to. 

She didn't have to survive monsters and horrifying people every second of every day. No longer would she have to think of ways to just get by without adding another bruise to her body, wounds that were left painted.

Ruby could just live.

"That'd be nice..."

As Ruby ate, they Qrow informed her of what she missed in the last two days of her being unconscious. 

He told her that Penny returned to a district called Atlas after making sure Ruby was safe and healthy. Ruby had still kept her grudge against Penny, she would never trust her again.

Afterward, Qrow kept the conversations light, not wanting to involve her world affairs if he didn't need to. He brought up several topics, always asking about what she like and what she was interested in.

"Do you have a favorite color?"

Ruby picked at her brain, the only color she was surrounded with was gray, white, and-

Suddenly, realization hit her, and a chilling feeling ran it's way through her spine. "T-There was another person with me, a r-red-head... What happened to her.?"

Qrow slightly raised his eyebrows, then shook his head solemnly, "The night we found you-when we got there she was already... dead. There was nothing we could do for her. I'm sorry, Penny had told us she was a very good friend of yours." 

Nodding her head stiffly, choked out a "yeah" as a response. 

Of course, why did she think that there was some chance she was still around. She recalled her nightmare from earlier, that was proof enough of Pyrrha's likely disdain toward Ruby. For not protecting her, for letting her die.

Ruby grit her teeth, a burning feeling that, again, was always so persistent, like it would never leave her-perhaps that was the familiarity she was stuck with-though, the burning was different in a way, the burning had always powered her, the hatred she felt for the ones who always tormented her. But it felt like it burned her from the inside out, like she would keep burning till she found a way to put out the fire, or the fire would put out her.

Her hatred was now replaced with regrets...

Once again, Qrow pulled her from her thoughts, trying not to startle her like before. "There wasn't anything we could do for her then, but there was something we did do for her now..." 

Before Ruby could ask Qrow to elaborate, he asked her to get dressed with the spare clothes her gave her. She obeyed in an instant and did as told.

When she was done, they both left the house together and made their way to wherever Qrow was taking them.

The scenery of Patch was so much nicer than the bland, cold wasteland she lived in for eight years. The seasons were changing around her, leaves turning the color of fall, and the cold was more tolerable at Patch.

All the new noises and the fact she saw actual colors made her jumpy and paranoid. Her heightened senses in combination with her new surroundings were not helping her either. 

Qrow noticed she was getting fidgety and offered her a distraction, "Here, this is a scroll, you've probably never used one so this could be one of the things you learn about in this new world." She narrowed her eyes a bit, but eventually took it and nodded thanks.

Ruby had only seen these whenever one of the members of staff had them out, she deduced it was some sort of communications device. Before she got into what was actually on the phone, she examined it's overall structure and was fascinated with how thin it actually was.

She looked through the "apps", as Qrow explained it was short for "applications". When she stumbled upon an app that had an image of two men in dark clothing fighting, she became intrigued.

"Uh, Qrow? What's this?" Ruby presented the app to him. He chuckled lowly, "It's a video game. It helps me destress whenever missions start getting to me. I could teach you how to play if you want."

"Video game? Can you explain that to me, too?" Qrow scratched the back of his neck, he was amused with the questions, but agreed to tell her more after they go back home. Deciding she didn't want to flood her own head with more question, she returned the scroll to him and just returned to taking in the scenery.

It was the evening, the sky turning rich red and soft orange. Breathing in the air without the sting from frost, it was serene.

After about ten minutes of walking, they finally arrived at whatever destination Qrow took them to. "We're here," Qrow declared. The pair found themselves at some sort of cliffside, but there were two slab like structure near it's edge. One seemed to be in memorial of Ruby's missing mother, which made Ruby's stomach sink, and the other. .

"Here Lies Pyrrha Nikos; The Only One That Truly Believed in Her Destiny With Ruby Rose."

Ruby was left in shock, her feet stuck to the ground as if they were glued there. Qrow cleared his throat, noticing Ruby was probably processing why a grave of her friend was at a cliffside.

"We didn't want to leave her to just be buried under some snow, so Penny gave us the idea for the gravestone. Said it was something that you'd feel would be appropriate for your friend," Qrow explained. Ruby finally managed to take a few steps forward slowly and placing her hand on the smooth marble.

Her hand grazed the stone so softly, as if it were to break from the slightest touch.

Not a word had escaped her lips upon seeing this gravestone, the tears from that night felt like returning, but she didn't want to cry in front of the grave, in front of Pyrrha.

So many things she wanted to say to her, so many emotions and regrets that she couldn't form into proper sentences.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby returned to Qrow, "Thank you, for doing this. I've been unsure of a lot of things, especially with being...free... But I'm glad I have you as family..." Qrow gave her a warm smile, and patted her shoulder, making sure she was comfortable first with physical touch. 

"I'm really glad your back, kiddo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made slight edits to Chapter 5. Hope you enjoy :)


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